'Desensitised' young British men 'drawn to child abuse' images

YOUNG British men are emerging as a “new group” of online paedophiles, drawn to child abuse after being “desensitised” to legal pornography, a senior police officer has warned.
Young British men are being drawn to child abuse imagery, a police chief has warned. Picture: Tim Goode/PA WireYoung British men are being drawn to child abuse imagery, a police chief has warned. Picture: Tim Goode/PA Wire
Young British men are being drawn to child abuse imagery, a police chief has warned. Picture: Tim Goode/PA Wire

The UK is now the third biggest consumer of online child sexual abuse, the national police lead for child protection, Simon Bailey, said.

Speaking to the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), Mr Bailey said a new generation of younger men are being drawn to child abuse imagery after becoming “desensitised” to legal pornography.

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Mr Bailey, who is Norfolk’s Police Chief Constable, said: “What we are seeing is a new group of young men aged between 18 and 26 who have been brought up on a staple diet of going to visit Pornhub and sites like that.

Norfolk Police Chief Constable Simon Bailey. Picture:  Norfolk Police/PA WireNorfolk Police Chief Constable Simon Bailey. Picture:  Norfolk Police/PA Wire
Norfolk Police Chief Constable Simon Bailey. Picture: Norfolk Police/PA Wire

“They get to the point where there’s no pornographic material that is stimulating them so then they start to explore what child abuse imagery might look like. They start getting their kicks from that.”

His comments appeared on the IWF’s podcast Pixels From A Crime Scene, in which he said he feared the problem will get worse with advancements in technology around the world.

“You look at the opportunities that will be afforded by people who are living in poverty to then exploit children to generate income,” he said.

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Despite describing the UK’s response to the crime as “the best in the world bar none”, Mr Bailey said it was not enough to tackle the issue.

He said while around 500 offenders are arrested and 700 children are safeguarded every month, the number of referrals and the scale and level of depravity “just keep growing”.

Mr Bailey said: “We’ve got to start coming to terms with the fact that there are some appalling things taking place online that unfortunately the internet is probably the route of most of the evils.

“We have to start looking at that and we have to start genuinely asking the question, how much more are we going to tolerate?”

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Child protection remains a priority during the coronavirus pandemic, as hundreds of thousands of paedophiles look t exploit children during the lockdown.

Earlier this month, the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) warned that at least 300,000 people posed a sexual threat to children in the UK.

Simon Bailey warned that there could be a spike in abuse with schools closed and youngsters spending more time on the internet.

Children’s charity the NSPCC also urged children, parents and carers to ensure they know how to stay safe on the web as they face an increased threat from offenders online.